It was the opener for the Middies, who are trying to improve after a winless 2012-13 season.

The score might have been lopsided, but the outcome wasn’t entirely negative. There were reasons for optimism. The Middies played with increased confidence as the game wore on and coach Scott Plzak said their ability to execute offensively improved along the way.

“Actually, I was happy and I think the kids were happy with the way they ran the offense,” Plzak said. “We were moving much better than we’ve moved in a long time. I was really happy that in the half court we were able to do what we needed to do.”

Plzak also said he thought his team couldn’t run with the Bulldogs and wanted to reduce their possessions. The Middies won the opening tip and controlled the ball for nearly two minutes before losing possession on a turnover.

“We knew that running up and down the court with them would be a challenge, so we were going to try to limit the number of possessions,” Plzak said. “So we came out and ran (the offense) for almost two minutes, which was good. But their execution was better and their confidence got stronger. This was a learning experience and we’ll grow from it.”

Midview’s Arianna Johnson tries to keep control of the ball as Olmsted Falls’ Marie Jacobs defends.

The Bulldogs (1-1) took advantage of the turnover and moved to a 6-0 lead on baskets by Marie Jacobs, Gasper and Hannah Hammeren. The Middies got their first shot, a close-range basket by Shelby Plas, halfway through the quarter. Falls led 19-4 after eight minutes as Gasper scored nine points and Midview’s Lindsay Haywood scored off a steal in the final seconds.

Falls held Midview to a single basket each in the second and third quarters. But the Middies came alive in the fourth and outscored the Bulldogs 15-8. Haywood scored seven of her team-high nine points in the fourth, while the Midview defense held Gasper scoreless. Gasper, a junior, nailed the Bulldogs’ three 3-point baskets.

She was asked what her team learned from a one-sided victory.

“We learn to execute plays,” Gasper said. “We make sure that everyone knows their spot and their job. We’re good at moving the ball, but we need to work on it more. So we’re learning to do that in games like this. It also gives us the chance to do stuff we wouldn’t ordinarily do.”

Falls finished with two other players in double figures, Kara Marshall and Savanajh Black, who scored 10 points each.

The Middies, who missed all eight 3-point shots in the first half, made three of five after the break, all in the fourth quarter. The first, by Arianna Johnson, pushed Midview into double figures for the first time. Haywood followed shortly with another, making it a 55-14 Olmsted Falls lead. Molly Linn sank the third 3-pointer just over halfway through the period.

“Today was about executing our stuff a little bit better,” Bulldogs coach Matt Fulton said. “We had Strongsville on Wednesday and they played a zone all game, and we didn’t execute the way we needed to. Even in our zone offenses, we didn’t have kids cutting to the right spaces at the right times, and a lot of offense is all about timing. I thought today we did a better job.”